Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-07
THE NEW SEA TERROR.
A Glimpse of Lieutenant Zalinski's Dyna
m,te Cruiser.
Pniladelphia Press.
Philadelphia Press,


Lieutenant Zslinski's dynamite cruiser,
that Is being built by William Cramp c
Sons st their Richmond shipyerd, will be
launched probably during Mar b next.
-Four weeks ago it's keel vas laid, and
now it looks like the skeleton Of some
marine monster held up by scsffolding,
! on which men are perched, who make the
yard res0und with the heavy blows OF
their hammers as the steel bones are put
in place.
The cruiser ig very much ike torpedo
boat, with the exception CT It's gun and
gun tirirg arrangements. 1t Will carry
! 0,000 pounds of explosive gelatine,
which is equal to 28,200 pounds of dyna-
mite. This will ALLOW it to fire SPOUT
100 times without seeking more ammuui-
! ton, each charge consisting Of eco pounds
OF gelatine in sixty pound pre- jectl!e.
While Zslinskl was studying the plans
OF the boet the other day up 81 Cramps,
and speaking Of the terrible destruc-
ton that he expects it &c accomplish
when tie United States has its
next wer, some one asked him If
ne dida't taink that it would take brave
men to travel about in company with ten
tons or so of explosive gelatiae. The
!
striking the cruisers side might detor2te
lis cargo and terminate It's existence and
that of its crew.
"Pooh," replied the gallant Lieutenant,
"there won'c be much dagger OF that.
The stuff must be properly aauilet, OF
course. Look here" and the LOCALIZED
dynamiter put mis- hand in his pocket and
pulled our about hSlf pound Of the geia-
@ N
There WAS panic.
MEASUREMENT OF THE VESSEL.
TIE cruiser ls not yet named. SIZE is
now known as Hull 256 She will be Of
aOOu. 750 tons displacement, her length
will be 24G feet, and her beam twenty six
feet. Her $500 horse power triple ex-
pansion engines aEe expected to drive
her twin screws 81 rate sufficiently fa5l
TO give her a speed Of twenty knots IN
hour. That js the rapidity demanded By
the specifications and every effort will be
made &c fulfill 1t. Sna will carry three
eleven-inCh bore pneumstic dynamite
guns. These sre eaCh fitty-four feet long
Tae breScnes are near the bottom of the
b0st, close to the center, and the barrels
run Obliqu6ly TO the deck, above which
they project. Tie mouths point upward.
the plan of firing being similar to that OF
m0rt4rs,
From the plans seen 81 Cramps the
boat viii have g busiaess-ljke air and ar
appearance not altogether iGartiStic. she
VIII ce built shSrp almost SIS he,C1et
Like monitor che VIII carry no sails or
mastS Everything about her except the
wooden covering To the arm0red deck sCd
1ile csbln fixtures will be Of steel. Ia the
very heart Of the heat underneath the
coming t0wer-whieh will be also Of solid
) metal-Will b. stored the explosive gels-
tine. II will be IN position handy 10
the gUGnrrs, but far away from the quart.
ers OF either officers Or crew. Nesr ii
and handy to the breech CT the gurs viii
be the chamber OF compressed air, tht
! projecting power of the gun. the sterr
! is taken up by the officers quarters. Be-
: tween them ard the magazine end gun
? room vii! be the machinery. The crew:
. quarters are forweTd. The entire cost o
: the vessel will e $3.50, 900.
PROGRESS OF THE WORK.
While one set of workmen are con.
stTucting the ribs the others ere making
the boilers and forging the armor plates
The woodworking department is not idl,
either, but is preparing to fashion tn,
small portions Of wood that the cruise
g will use. A member Of the shipbuildins
e firm complained yesterday OF the Difficult.
} ty Of obtaining il sufficient quantities
. the high grade of steel required by th'
government for the construction of it!
men of-war. He ssid thet ordinarily
, cruiser like the ZAlinshi-it has beer
suggested that that might be its name
should not take more than eight weeks tt
. build, whereas the dynamite boat vii
probably take seven months altogether
: The firm had waited since January TO-
material.
3 The efficiency Of the Zalinski gun Wal
i shown few days ago a. Fort Lafayette
An old and condemned coast surve,
schooner, the Silliman, fought fou
= rounds with the gun at distance Q
$50 yards. The pressure Of air g
which tie shots were fired was COO t,
COZ pounds per square inch, and tn
l. charge Of siycerine tor the list two SHOT
weigneds ftftY-hve pounds. These TIVE
practically destroyed the shin, hut Nv,
more were fire for the fun OF reducin:
: her to kindlir wood.